Rash of injuries put a damper on Junior Cannons' season

By Christopher Falvo, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Published 9:35 pm, Monday, August 31, 2009

Injuries have bogged down the Greenwich Cannons Junior Legion baseball team all season long. The effect the rash of injuries has had on the team was no more evident than in Thursday's loss to Wilton at Greenwich High School. Greenwich was forced to forfeit the game because of a lack of roster depth following a first inning ejection.

"We've had a boatload of injuries," head coach Pat Piro said. "We've just had so many injuries our roster has really been taxed."

The injuries have left Greenwich (9-12) fighting for their lives to make the playoffs. The Cannons are squarely behind the eight-ball following Thursday's forfeit, needing to win the remaining five games of the season to qualify for the postseason.

A win against Wilton would have been a big boost for Greenwich, since its last five games are all against teams with below-.500 records. The Cannons will try to make a run at the playoffs starting with a Saturday doubleheader against Wilton, at 10 a.m. and noon at Wilton High School.

Greenwich has lost four players to injury this season. Further depleting the Junior Legion team's depth is the loss of four more players who have been double-rostered to the Senior Legion team. The double-rostered players have helped boost the Senior Legion team, after a sluggish start, into the heart of playoff contention.

The bright spot of a season riddled with injuries is the emergence of young bench players who have been hurled into full-time action. Matt Prunner has locked down second base and Harry Polak has seen more innings on the mound.

"The boys have gotten a lot of experience, mixing them in a lot of positions," Piro said. "Going out of the season, the boys are going to have a lot of experience."

Leaders have also emerged from the group, as the Cannons have forged their way through 2009. Piro credited Scott Huley, Brian Schutzman, Pete Harris and Dan Fraser for stepping to the occasion and carrying the load for this depleted team.

"They've become leaders for us," Piro said. "They're playing almost every inning for us. They're moving around to a lot of different positions."

The shuffling of positions has been tough for the young squad to deal with since there has been no consistency.

"It's been a challenge to get all the players in the same positions two days in a row," Piro said.

However, the experience the Cannons are getting, being placed in different situations each game, has lent them a stronger sense of confidence. "They seem to be more comfortable now than they were in the beginning of the season," Piro said."